[Though she doesn't see the memory he sees, Ryoji's sudden switch from determination to reluctance throws Minako into a similar daze, and she has to shake her head physically to stop herself from succumbing to their connection. If she gets distracted, she's going to miss something that could potentially help end this...!
But she thinks she might be onto something anyways. Noah's arm so far has only targeted Ryoji. It's in a rampage, yes, but it's not blindly destroying the other parts of the shop at all. It's unlikely that Noah has a part in encouraging that, since his efforts to command the arm to do anything seem to be in vain, so Minako can only assume the arm is reacting to Ryoji. All of this had apparently started when he'd touched Noah's arm, too.
Ryoji's idea to use Ghastly Wail is too risky to try just yet. Neither of them want to hurt Noah if they can help it, and Minako intends to try every other option at her disposal first.
Option three: get Ryoji out of the shop ASAP. Hoping he heard her flurry of thoughts and reasoning, she commands in a voice that brooks no argument:]
Not yet, Ryoji. Dismiss Thanatos and then on my signal, run for it. I'll call for you again if we're in danger, but for now, just get as far away as you can. [And then in a louder voice, her Evoker tugged out of her purse and at her temple:] I summon you! Kartikeya!
[The deity spins into existence, cramping up the already crowded shop with his peacock, but he's only there for a moment to lift his spear into the air, casting a Masukukaja over her and Thanatos before disappearing.]
[ Thanatos' head snaps over to look at Minako, clearly spurning this proposal: she's asking him to abandon two of his closest friends— how is he supposed to do that? If something were to happen, how is he supposed to live with himself?
But all it takes is Minako summoning Kartikeya. There's no room for another soul, and Thanatos reverts, Ryoji severing his connection with Minako and taking his distress and reluctance with him where she can no longer share in. He ducks around the splintered walls and towards the door— but where is he even supposed to go? What is he supposed to do? How is he supposed to leave...
Ryoji squeezes his eyes tight, pausing at the doorway with what little time he probably should not waste. Trust her. He would trust her with his life without hesitation, but her life? Noah's life? ]
—Keep me on speaker.
[ And he's out the door. Not two seconds later, Minako's phone will ring. At the very, very least, keep him in the loop. He can't share in what Minako thinks and feels as Ryoji, but this way, he can at least hear and lend his voice. ]
[To Noah, it's all a flurry of activity that is rather confusing. Minako giving orders, putting a gun to her head. That alone gets a loud surprised noise out of Noah- a new one than the ones he was making before. But instead of her getting her brains blown out, another giant creature appears- almost reminiscent of the one Yu summoned a couple months ago.
Then Ryoji is human again. The claw tries to make another swipe for him as he darts for the door, one last grab. Fortunately, it's not able to reach him.
And the moment the dark presence is gone? The claw makes a few more swipes, but since it can't sense anymore of that darkness in it's immediate vicinity, it calms down and stops moving.]
I-it stopped?
[But before Noah can really breath or think, the claw suddenly reverts back to it's normal form. At the same time, Noah falls to his knees and starts coughing- going so far as to having a little blood being hacked up in the fit. He's hit his physical limit on his powers, he's as pale as a sheet. ]
[True to Ryoji's wishes, Minako answers the phone and jams the speaker button on before shoving it into her apron pocket. She's well aware of how much more in danger she's in now that it's only her and Noah, especially when she can't be sure if her hunch was correct, so she tenses on her feet, ready to bolt for it and praying that the Masukukaja will help her evade any punches--
And then things fall quiet save for Noah's hoarse coughing. Minako exhales in the same moment she's hurrying forward to his side.
She's hates the implications of everything that just happened (will Noah and Ryoji ever be able to be in the same room again? How is she going to stop Ryoji from feeling like this is all his fault? What is going to happen to the store?) but one look at the droplets of blood on the linoleum and her scattered thoughts are gone.]
Noah, can you try and sit up properly? I'll get you some water-- Ryoji, go tell Lucian what happened, we'll be right behind you.
Ryoji breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing those two words, hardly hearing the others. There's Noah's voice he hears from where he holds his phone in a death grip. That's Minako's voice giving him orders, and for how muddled his thoughts are, he needs that to focus on and concentrate on nothing else but grab somebody who can help.
[He hears Minako's orders. Lucian...that's the doctor that Noah saw a few months ago. The one that couldn't tell him anything about his arm. The bitter and angry part of him thinks that there's not going to be shit that doctor can do for him right now if he couldn't do anything before, why bother...
But the anger is fast to turn away to Lucian and focus more on himself. That claw attacked his friend. It attacked someone who had been nothing but kind to him. It wrecked the place he worked, the place that Minako worked so hard to help run and that the owner put so much of herself into. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Demon arm, that's what people kept calling it. Maybe they were really right. Maybe it was a demon arm, or he was the demon. Or at least some kind of monster. What else could he be if he did this? Lots of people got powers from retrospec and they didn't do this.
He has another round of coughing and hacking, this time with less blood. He then pushes himself back so he's sitting on the floor properly. He's exhausted from having so much strain on his body. Hungry too, but he feels too sick at himself to even address that.]
I'm sorry...fuck...I should've been more careful.
[He's not sure how, he hadn't known this could happen. But he was the one who messed this all up, so he had to have done something wrong. He does a lot of things wrong, after all]
[The words are firm but her voice is soft, hands equally gentle as she helps him lean up against the wall. She flits away from his side for a moment, bringing back a glass of water to him, dimly realizing that her hands are trembling from some mixture of adrenaline and exhaustion.
What else can she do to help? She has to do more to help. Minako pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and starts to dab at the sweat on his face, pushing back his bangs to get a better look at him. Sitting up to do so reminds her that her phone is in her pocket too. With some hesitation, she takes it out and sets it down on the ground, the speaker still on.]
[He tenses up when Minako touches him, even flinching a little. If he had more energy, he'd pull away -- purely out of fear that whatever happened will get set off again. But when it clearly doesn't, he eases up a little- in time to hear Ryoji's voice over the phone.
God, he feels so bad.]
I-I'm fine, it's stopped. Minako looks okay too.
[He's exhausted, store, and he's probably got a number of scrapes from being dragged around- but like hell is he going to talk about. Not to someone he attacked]
I'm fine, don't worry about me. You don't have to apologize either.
[ If Ryoji could get up and run, he's fine. Any injuries that Thanatos incurs doesn't get directly transferred to himself; he simply feels exhausted, but who wouldn't be exhausted after seeing everything that had happened? ]
How did you get it to stop? Are you two still inside the store? You should get out if you can, just in case walls or roof collapse.
You would never on purpose, so it's not your fault.
[ It's easy pushing these sentiments onto somebody else, when not too long ago he'd been in Noah's shoes beating himself into the ground with guilt over the very same thing. ]
...If it's a time limit, that makes things simpler, at least. I could come back? I don't need to grab a doctor on foot, I can call.
[Yes it is, he wants to argue- but he knows Ryoji can be rather stubborn when he thinks something. So he grits his teeth a little to bite back the urge to fight. Too tired for that.
But at the suggestion...Noah is unsure. He's not an idiot, he knows it happened from Ryoji touching him, and calmed down when Ryoji left. Could it possibly happen again? But at the same time, he doesn't want to banish Ryoji and maybe it is safe.
He ends up glancing over at Minako, the expression on his face reads one that doesn't know what to do, and is looking for her input. For her to lead.]
[Minako has been quietly listening to the conversation until now, taking the moment to let herself feel exhausted-- but when Noah glances her way she straightens up out of her slump, alert once again.]
Yeah. Come on back, Ryoji. But be careful when you come in, okay?
[ Careful because of... broken glass, he's supposing, or the aforementioned potential building collapse, but he about-faces immediately to head back. ]
Minako, could you summon me? That way, I'll be there in an instant.
Nnnnoo? It's more like I can summon him. [A wry smile.] One sec.
[She brings the Evoker to her head again-- sorry you have to see this up close, Noah-- and fires it off, her voice a murmur instead of her usual shout.]
[ There's a flash of light, almost blinding, before the space before the two of them seems to plunge into darkness with the contrast. From that, Thanatos materializes into view, like a mirage of first, then solid and real. ]
[NOPE NOPE THIS IS BAD. He can feel the energy build up in his arm, like it wants to activate again thanks to the sudden MASS OF DARKNESS in front of them. Fortunately, it still doesn't have enough energy to fully activate, so it more like twitching spasms with a few crackling sparks of gray energy as Noah does his best to cling to it and keep it from going nuts]
[Well, that answers the question of whether or not Thanatos was the one to activate the arm. Minako immediately jerks her Evoker away from her head, mentally dismissing Thanatos so that only Ryoji will remain.]
[ Ryoji pops back into existence and his first reaction is to approach Noah and that arm of his, reaching out as if wanting to look at it or touch it or something, if only he could help. He works in a clinic, but muscle spasms are one thing, and sparks are another. ]
[The reaction to Ryoji is the one she's more worried about at the moment, but it...seems like it isn't so bad? At least the arm isn't lunging for him. Minako gently catches Ryoji's hand and gives it a squeeze.]
Careful.
[That's what she'd wanted him to watch out for, more than broken glass.]
[ LOOK. Ryoji wasn't there to connect the dots with Noah's arm settling down the moment Ryoji left, but he sure as hell sees it start to reactivate when faced with Thanatos again. The first time it'd happened, it was just him, but Thanatos is within him and will forever be within him.
His shoulders drop, and he isn't holding Minako's hand back so much as he simply lets it hang there in her grasp. ]
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But she thinks she might be onto something anyways. Noah's arm so far has only targeted Ryoji. It's in a rampage, yes, but it's not blindly destroying the other parts of the shop at all. It's unlikely that Noah has a part in encouraging that, since his efforts to command the arm to do anything seem to be in vain, so Minako can only assume the arm is reacting to Ryoji. All of this had apparently started when he'd touched Noah's arm, too.
Ryoji's idea to use Ghastly Wail is too risky to try just yet. Neither of them want to hurt Noah if they can help it, and Minako intends to try every other option at her disposal first.
Option three: get Ryoji out of the shop ASAP. Hoping he heard her flurry of thoughts and reasoning, she commands in a voice that brooks no argument:]
Not yet, Ryoji. Dismiss Thanatos and then on my signal, run for it. I'll call for you again if we're in danger, but for now, just get as far away as you can. [And then in a louder voice, her Evoker tugged out of her purse and at her temple:] I summon you! Kartikeya!
[The deity spins into existence, cramping up the already crowded shop with his peacock, but he's only there for a moment to lift his spear into the air, casting a Masukukaja over her and Thanatos before disappearing.]
GO!
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But all it takes is Minako summoning Kartikeya. There's no room for another soul, and Thanatos reverts, Ryoji severing his connection with Minako and taking his distress and reluctance with him where she can no longer share in. He ducks around the splintered walls and towards the door— but where is he even supposed to go? What is he supposed to do? How is he supposed to leave...
Ryoji squeezes his eyes tight, pausing at the doorway with what little time he probably should not waste. Trust her. He would trust her with his life without hesitation, but her life? Noah's life? ]
—Keep me on speaker.
[ And he's out the door. Not two seconds later, Minako's phone will ring. At the very, very least, keep him in the loop. He can't share in what Minako thinks and feels as Ryoji, but this way, he can at least hear and lend his voice. ]
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Then Ryoji is human again. The claw tries to make another swipe for him as he darts for the door, one last grab. Fortunately, it's not able to reach him.
And the moment the dark presence is gone? The claw makes a few more swipes, but since it can't sense anymore of that darkness in it's immediate vicinity, it calms down and stops moving.]
I-it stopped?
[But before Noah can really breath or think, the claw suddenly reverts back to it's normal form. At the same time, Noah falls to his knees and starts coughing- going so far as to having a little blood being hacked up in the fit. He's hit his physical limit on his powers, he's as pale as a sheet. ]
F-Fuck...
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And then things fall quiet save for Noah's hoarse coughing. Minako exhales in the same moment she's hurrying forward to his side.
She's hates the implications of everything that just happened (will Noah and Ryoji ever be able to be in the same room again? How is she going to stop Ryoji from feeling like this is all his fault? What is going to happen to the store?) but one look at the droplets of blood on the linoleum and her scattered thoughts are gone.]
Noah, can you try and sit up properly? I'll get you some water-- Ryoji, go tell Lucian what happened, we'll be right behind you.
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Ryoji breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing those two words, hardly hearing the others. There's Noah's voice he hears from where he holds his phone in a death grip. That's Minako's voice giving him orders, and for how muddled his thoughts are, he needs that to focus on and concentrate on nothing else but grab somebody who can help.
Be okay. Be okay. Please be okay. ]
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But the anger is fast to turn away to Lucian and focus more on himself. That claw attacked his friend. It attacked someone who had been nothing but kind to him. It wrecked the place he worked, the place that Minako worked so hard to help run and that the owner put so much of herself into. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Demon arm, that's what people kept calling it. Maybe they were really right. Maybe it was a demon arm, or he was the demon. Or at least some kind of monster. What else could he be if he did this? Lots of people got powers from retrospec and they didn't do this.
He has another round of coughing and hacking, this time with less blood. He then pushes himself back so he's sitting on the floor properly. He's exhausted from having so much strain on his body. Hungry too, but he feels too sick at himself to even address that.]
I'm sorry...fuck...I should've been more careful.
[He's not sure how, he hadn't known this could happen. But he was the one who messed this all up, so he had to have done something wrong. He does a lot of things wrong, after all]
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[The words are firm but her voice is soft, hands equally gentle as she helps him lean up against the wall. She flits away from his side for a moment, bringing back a glass of water to him, dimly realizing that her hands are trembling from some mixture of adrenaline and exhaustion.
What else can she do to help? She has to do more to help. Minako pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and starts to dab at the sweat on his face, pushing back his bangs to get a better look at him. Sitting up to do so reminds her that her phone is in her pocket too. With some hesitation, she takes it out and sets it down on the ground, the speaker still on.]
...do you two want to talk?
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Yes! Noah? Noah, is everything okay now? Are you hurt? Bleeding? Minako too?
[ He can't see and it's endlessly frustrating. ]
Do either of you need an ambulance? First aid? What should I tell Lucian?
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God, he feels so bad.]
I-I'm fine, it's stopped. Minako looks okay too.
[He's exhausted, store, and he's probably got a number of scrapes from being dragged around- but like hell is he going to talk about. Not to someone he attacked]
Are you okay?! I'm so sorry.
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[ If Ryoji could get up and run, he's fine. Any injuries that Thanatos incurs doesn't get directly transferred to himself; he simply feels exhausted, but who wouldn't be exhausted after seeing everything that had happened? ]
How did you get it to stop? Are you two still inside the store? You should get out if you can, just in case walls or roof collapse.
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[Even if he had no way of knowing this would happen, he still feels responsible.]
It- It just stopped. I feel really drained, so maybe it just...just ran out of fucking energy? [...] I'll move in a moment.
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[ It's easy pushing these sentiments onto somebody else, when not too long ago he'd been in Noah's shoes beating himself into the ground with guilt over the very same thing. ]
...If it's a time limit, that makes things simpler, at least. I could come back? I don't need to grab a doctor on foot, I can call.
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But at the suggestion...Noah is unsure. He's not an idiot, he knows it happened from Ryoji touching him, and calmed down when Ryoji left. Could it possibly happen again? But at the same time, he doesn't want to banish Ryoji and maybe it is safe.
He ends up glancing over at Minako, the expression on his face reads one that doesn't know what to do, and is looking for her input. For her to lead.]
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Yeah. Come on back, Ryoji. But be careful when you come in, okay?
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Minako, could you summon me? That way, I'll be there in an instant.
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You can summon people...?
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[She brings the Evoker to her head again-- sorry you have to see this up close, Noah-- and fires it off, her voice a murmur instead of her usual shout.]
I summon you.
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[NOPE NOPE THIS IS BAD. He can feel the energy build up in his arm, like it wants to activate again thanks to the sudden MASS OF DARKNESS in front of them. Fortunately, it still doesn't have enough energy to fully activate, so it more like twitching spasms with a few crackling sparks of gray energy as Noah does his best to cling to it and keep it from going nuts]
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—Oh, that looks bad...
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Tch- the summon set it off I think.
[But at least it seems to be weakening now, the sparks start going on and the spasms decrease]
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Careful.
[That's what she'd wanted him to watch out for, more than broken glass.]
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His shoulders drop, and he isn't holding Minako's hand back so much as he simply lets it hang there in her grasp. ]
You mean I set it off.
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[Noah glances away as he keeps holding onto his arm. He doesn't want to say it, but his guilty expression alone is telling.]
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